Articles written by Stephen Ironside

It's been a tumultuous year for GoPro. The company, whose name is still as synonymous with "pocket-size- action-HD-video-camera" as Band-Aid's name is with "adhesive bandage," has had a rocky time recently. From its drones falling from the sky to its stock losing half its value just this year, things have been rough for the once market-driving manufacturer. Today, steps were taken in an attempt to right the ship.

When I was considering whether or not I should write this article, I went back and forth between not feeling qualified to write it and knowing that it is an important topic. It’s an article involving sexual assault, and I haven’t been sexually assaulted. But, I know many people who have been, and I know that if there’s any way to help survivors of any type of sexual violence overcome the trauma that comes packaged with that terrible ordeal, it should be made available to them, and it should be talked about. I didn’t ever expect photography to step in to help, yet here we are.

If you've ever booked an out-of-town photography gig and needed to catch a flight to get there, you might have run into this problem: you get on the plane, lift up your roller bag to put it into the overhead bin, and it just doesn't fit. You push, you squeeze, you try taking out the laptop, but nothing works. You hang your head in shame and walk back up to the front, and ask the flight attendant for help. As always, Think Tank Photo is here to help.

A couple of years ago I was tasked with getting a shot of grape stomping for a local food magazine, Edible Ozarkansas, who were doing a story on the history of local wine production in Arkansas. Right away, images of Lucy and Ethel of "I Love Lucy" stomping grapes in the giant barrel came scrolling through my mind. Challenge accepted.

Like many photographers, I decided to stop shooting weddings as soon as I was able to. They were sometimes fun, and they could pay well, but they just weren’t for me. In 2013, I finally booked my last one: a destination wedding in early 2014 in Bolivia. Going out with style, for sure.

I haven’t yet set foot in the depths of the Congo, nor have I had tea at sunset high in the Alps. I haven’t been to Antarctica (though it almost happened once). But I’ve experienced many far away places, created a lot of images of and for the people who call those places home, and I’ve made it my life’s endeavor to use my talents as best I can to leave the world, as I’ve seen it, as I’ve known it, a little better off.

Storytelling through visual imagery has already brought me many opportunities. I’ve documented clothing factories in India, a wedding in Bolivia, deadly snakes in Costa Rica, toy factories in China, and an ancient religious ceremony in the middle of nowhere in the Himalayas. But it doesn’t matter if I’m abroad or right at home in Arkansas; looking through the lens to craft a story and share it with others, and to see their reactions and how it can impact their lives, is what gets me up in the morning. It’s better than the awards I’ve won, and it’s better than that affirmative feeling of being published.

In the short term, I’m working to expand my commercial, corporate, advertising, and editorial photography business to a national scale. But, long term, I’m pursuing storytelling photography as both a profession and a life goal, and hope to help revitalize peoples’ love for the natural world and for cultures besides their own — a love that seems to have been lost in today’s society. If I leave a mark on this world, it better be a good one.